Reflections
by Restless-Obscurity
Summary: So Olivia and Dinah wear the same dress on Bill and Olivia's weddings night and then Bill leaves Olivia alone! How this extraordinary night brought the unlikely couple closer together.
1. Inconvenient Convenience

**Reflections**

**by Emily**

Olivia sat contemplatively at the bar in Towers. Her eyes had lost focus on any one point in the room. The noise around her seemed muted. Civil laughter and polite conversation buzzed around her. The inconsistent clinking of glass against glass, the occasional pop of a champagne bottle, and the relaxed patter of entering patrons felt foreign to her. These feckless beings had no idea what it was like to have a heart drumming against their breasts with the concealed knowledge at any second that heart would be shred into billions of tiny fragments. Olivia paused her steady, discomfited thoughts to take a small sip of her drink. Something to pass against lips that felt parched, though to the world they appeared perfectly colored and moist.

Had it really only been earlier that day she had been a single woman? A distressed and dedicated mother, simply seeking to find a way to stay near her daughter? Yes, that was how it had been. Olivia's thoughts had dwelt only with Emma, and with her frustration at being caught in such a ridiculous situation. How her muscles had tightened to the breaking point under her skin, and her heart shuddered with horror at the thought of having to leave Springfield forever. Thoughts of having to leave Emma in the care of the dangerously unbalanced Phillip had plagued her with grief and icy fear. Her skin crawled now at the very memory. But that was all it was. A memory.

Bill Lewis.

She found it so difficult and increasingly tormenting to place this man. He had rode on his figural white horse and swooped her up into this strange fairy tale.

"_I know you love me."_

"_You do?"_

"_And I love you, too."_

Those words had echoed in her very soul. For just a brief instant, she thought he truly knew. She thought that he had read the words that had become silently etched on her heart. She had not uttered them. She had planned to never, ever utter them. It had startled her to think that he knew. What threw her into chaos was the thought, that blissful thought, that he loved her back. That he might love her with all the fierce passion and devotion she discreetly felt for him. Tears came unbidden and clung to her lashes. She hated herself. She hated herself for being so vulnerable when she was supposed to be strong. She hated herself for being so emotional when she should be stagnant. Most of all she hated falling in love. Falling in love with yet another man who could never love her. Another man who would in due course trample any fantasy or hope of a tomorrow.

He had run off. On their wedding night. Olivia sighed, and let out a strangled chuckle. Not that Bill cared. No, he had to run every time Harley called. Typical. Every man she had come to love usually had a different woman they would pledge their loyalty to first.

A low rumble startled Olivia. She glanced up, and against the long, glass windows twinkled millions of droplets of water. Shivering, Olivia glanced up at the clock.

"So, Bill, I'm going to need you to look into this," Harley was saying. "I'm going to be very busy trying to get Phillip's ... hello? Bill."

Bill's eyes were turned away. The rain was falling heavier now. Outside of Company, he could hear the thunder growling. His brow was knit with concern. Harley sighed in frustration. "Come on, Bill. I really need your help. What help are you going to be if you keep zoning out on me?"

Bill shook his head slightly, and looked back at her. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I was just thinking about ... something."

"Someone more likely," Harley said.

"Yes."

"Who?"

Bill looked at her incredulously. "It is my wedding night. Did you know?"

Harley grinned easily. "Ha ha. Well, big deal. You didn't marry the woman for love. I don't understand why you are so distracted."

Something inside him tightened almost reflexively. "Olivia's wonderful."

"Spoken so convincingly," Harley teased. "Now can we focus, here?"

Part of Bill was dying to get back to work. The work numbed his mind. Usually it was a whir of confused thoughts and feelings. He wanted to try and not acknowledge them as much as was humanly possible. Well, most of the time. Tonight his conscience if not something else was getting the better of him. His conversation with Harley seemed so empty and trivial tonight. It had dawned on him, much to his shame, that he had been dead wrong to have left Olivia behind. For all he knew, his father and Dinah were probably still icing her with all the ammunition they had. The thought sent a surprising jolt of fury through his bones. If he got back to Towers and they were still going at it with Olivia, he would probably strangle the pair of them. The image of Olivia's eyes shining at him after the vows had been said and he had swept her up in his arms haunted him.

More and more he was feeling like a stand-in for Harley. He could read it in her glance, in her smile, and in her actions. On the surface, for both of them, it had seemed as if they were becoming best friends. Lately Bill was aching inside. His motivations for taking down the Spaulding's had become fuzzy. When he had just been with Olivia ... yes, he had known what he wanted. They had been partners. They had been wounded, desperate creatures. They had both wanted revenge and another person to inject feelings of life into their bodies. The pathway may have been dark, but it had been crystal clear. What was he doing now? He was keeping Olivia trapped in that darkness so he could concoct sometimes laughable schemes with another woman to take down a man he really didn't want to bother with anymore. Another man's woman at that. Bill shifted in his seat uncomfortably, suddenly becoming aware Harley had been talking again. He hadn't heard a single syllable.

" ... so I thought that we might be able to - "

"Harley?"

"Wh .. what? Have you been listening?"

"Not exactly. I have something to ask you. I'm going to be blunt."

"Sure. Whatever ... anything."

"You need to stop fooling yourself."

Harley jerked, and looked up at him hastily with half a smile on her face. "Huh?"

"What is all this? The two of us running around like this?"

Harley blinked slowly. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Are you feeling okay?"

Bill took a deep breath. "Fine. Fine. I'm just going to say it. We're running around like a little team. We're trying to take down the bad guys, bring the good guys to justice, and ... I think we need to stop kidding ourselves. You need to stop kidding me."

Harley looked at him sharply.

Bill nodded and gently patted her arm. "What does all that sound like? Harley and Bill? It doesn't, does it? You know what it sounds like to me? Harley and Gus. Gus and Harley. Gus and Harley catch the bad guys, do the team thing, and go home for sweet love. You have attached onto our partnership pretty strongly. I know you don't want to admit it, but I have become your substitute for Gus. Whether you intended that to happen is probably not the case, but it's turned into that. I have neglected my life to live this danger-filled adventure to exact justice. I think we need to take it easy for a while. I can't come whenever you call. I just can't. What I feel for Olivia may not be true love, but I certainly should never have left her this way on a night that does mean something for both of us. I am going to go back to her now. I will call you in a few days."

Harley looked at him, mouthing wordlessly. The sharp look though had softened considerably and her hands had began to tremble a bit. She looked towards the door, and her eyes glossed over with a look Bill had not seen before. Bill glanced back, and saw that Gus had entered and was seating himself in one of the back booths, and was shaking the rain from his dark hair. Harley looked back at Bill nervously. Bill smiled. "Go on. You know you want to."

Harley's face hardened. "No. I can't. I won't."

"You will. You know it's right. I can see it's right. Don't mess with fate," Bill gave her a little mock salute, and walked away with a grin.

Harley fidgeted. She glanced up as if to reassure herself that Bill had actually just left her here. Then, taking a deep and calming breath, Harley rose and began to approach the other half of her soul.

"Hello, Olivia. I heard the good news. Just came by to offer you congratulations ... maybe condolences by the looks of it."

Olivia glanced up with casual interest. "Ah, Danny. I see your busy drowning your sorrows. I doubt you want to join in on my little pity party. We might both become more depressed than we already are."

"Doubt that. I'm feeling about as low as a person could possibly feel," Danny sighed.

"Mm. A toast to Michelle!" Olivia mockingly raised her glass. Danny smiled sadly, and clinked his glass to hers.

"Looks like Bill deserves a similar toast, no?"

Olivia frowned. "I suppose he does."

"You two got married, didn't you? That's what he said," Danny inquired.

Olivia held up her ringed finger. "Legally bound. He doesn't seem to remember it though. Chalk up a point to selective amnesia."

"I would offer you some comforting advice, but I really have none to give to you. My wife, the actual amnesiac, just ran off with my cousin. Quaint, isn't it? I sure thought so. I'm done fighting. Good riddance to the both of them," Danny's face remained stoic, though his eyes reflected the pain he truly felt. Olivia observed this with keen interest.

"You're giving up?"

Danny nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, it's definitely way past my time to move on. I doubt that moving on means love, though. I have little faith in love these days."

A chill ran down Olivia's back. "That's so cynical ..."

"But it's reality," he said, taking a sip.

The elevator doors opened. Bill entered the dining area unnoticed. He saw Olivia. Her dark tresses lay softly against the smooth skin of her back. They bounced lightly as she chuckled softly to a man sitting beside her. With a start, Bill realized it was Danny Santos. To his disbelief, he felt a sharp pang of jealousy. She looked so unconcerned, so natural, and her guard was down. He remembered when Olivia had sat next to him at her bar on Independence Day. Her searing gaze, and coy smile bequeathed to him. It seemed like a lifetime ago that all they were doing were playing games of revenge and fierce desire. That strange, tingly feeling was creeping down to his very fingertips as he watched her now. Purposefully, he strode towards them.

"Good evening, Danny. Enjoying the company of my beautiful wife?"

Danny looked up smugly. "Well, someone has to."

Olivia tucked away a triumphant smile, and cleared her throat.

Bill raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? I think I'll take it from here, if you don't mind. Don't you have to get home to Michelle? Oh, that's right! She's not going to be there. Too bad."

Olivia bristled. "Bill!"

Danny waved him aside. "If your looking to get a rise out of me, it's not going to happen tonight, mmkay? I'm too tired and wasted to argue like a couple of neanderthals."

Olivia shook her head. "I'll leave you two to refine your male bravado. Good night, Danny. Goodbye, Bill." She got up without meeting either man's eyes, and walked to the elevator.

Bill held out both hands in distress. "Olivia! Come on ... wait!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Man, you just don't get it. Are you blind? You have to go after what you want. If you don't, some other bozo will come along and put his hands all over it. Trust me."

A retort formed in Bill's throat, but refused to emerge as Danny's words hit him.

"Go," Danny said.

Bill looked over at him, and then hurried after her. The elevator door was just about to shut in his face. He grabbed it, and began to try and pull it back open.

"Bill! What are you doing? Stop making a scene," Olivia said venomously. "Just leave me alone, alright? You're great at doing that." She glared at him through the crack in the elevator and gave a mock thumbs-up.

"Stop it, sweetheart," Bill said, heaving the door open at last and stepping in. "I did wrong by you tonight. Could you please let it go? I'm sorry. There you go. I'm _sorry_."

"Gee, I feel so much better," Olivia snarled, huddling up in one of the elevator corners. "I loved putting on a dog and pony show for your dear, sweet father and your lethal sister. I loved random people coming to inquire if we had actually married, and then see them run off giggling that you had left me alone on our wedding night. I think my favorite was continuously saying 'Yes, we are so in love. So in love, he had to go spend the evening with someone else to regain control of his wild, unbridled passion.'"

She reached out and patted him on the cheek, smiling sourly. His hand shot up and loosely took a hold of her wrist. She frowned instantly and began to draw away. Bill continued to hold her wrist and look deeply into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Olivia. I don't know what else you want me to say."

Olivia forced herself to stand firm. "There really isn't anything else. This is only a show, right? A little game to one-up Phillip and to save me from losing my child. I suppose you don't owe me a single thing. I suppose in theory, I actually owe you for being so noble."

Bill shifted uncomfortably. "Don't talk about it like that. What happened today was, well, it was nice. It felt ... right. I don't really know how to explain it. I really meant some of the things I said to you. That wasn't just a bunch of elaborate, poetic lies I pulled from a hat."

Olivia stopped resisting his pull for a second. "Is that so?"

Bill smiled tentatively at her. "Yes. It's the truth."

"Huh," Olivia said. "That's ... lovely. I feel like I could fly." She yanked her arm away, and stubbornly retreated back into the corner.

Bill groaned. "Olivia ..."

"Are you just apologizing to me so you can still get some tonight?"

"Huh ... ?"

"Are you saying you're sorry because you still want that roll in the satin sheets?"

"Ooh, they have satin sheets?" Bill smiled at her crookedly.

Olivia muttered something in disgust and broke eye-contact.

"Why are you being so difficult? This was a little thing. Harley just needed my help really fast with some business stuff. I'm back now. Do you see? Here I am. We're together. You seem to have gotten the best of my family or else they would have still been hanging around being obnoxious. It wasn't like we had planned our wedding for months and months, and I then I left you. It's not we are ... we are ..."

"In love?" Olivia finished quietly.

"Well, yes, I guess," Bill mumbled. "I know that ... there are feelings there. Certainly there are. If there hadn't been anything, I wouldn't have ... have ..."

"Married me?"

Bill pulled at his collar. "Why are you making this so hard for me?"

"You know what? Just forget it, okay? Just forget about it," Olivia's face relaxed into an unreadable mask. The elevator door opened. Olivia stepped out, and Bill stepped out behind her. He reached out to take her hand. Olivia folded her arms and kept walking towards the suite. Bill sighed and tried to catch up with her rapidly moving body. She fumbled with the key in the lock, and opened the door. Both stopped dead in their tracks.

"Oh, God," murmured Bill.

The room was littered in red rose petals, covered with shimmering candles, and the bed was drawn down to reveal scarlet sheets. Sweet scents wafted out of the bathroom. A little white paper was folded and sitting on the desk addressed to Olivia. Olivia picked it up, and in a monotone but slightly curious voice, read aloud:

_Olivia,_

_Made a few quick calls from Jeanie's cell. Sweet woman, isn't she? Just thought I would leave you a few tokens to help you and Bill celebrate your union. Enjoy!_

_Alexandra_

_P.S. One good turn deserves another ..._

Olivia omitted the post script, and folded up the paper and tossed it to the side. "That woman. I can't believe it."

Bill laughed heartily. "I knew I liked her. Gee, I wonder if she left us this beautiful music collection too. What do we have here? _Puppy Love _...?"

Olivia sat down and put her head in her hands. "This is not happening. This has to be just one, big, completely insane dream."

Bill sat down next to her. "Then we are both lost in the same dream."

Olivia looked up at him. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but her eyes reflected the twinkling candles. Bill for a moment felt like he couldn't breathe. He couldn't explain it. It was as if her eyes and that smile pulling at the corners of her mouth were intoxicating him. He reached out and gently pushed a tendril of her dark hair away from her face. He was surprised when she didn't resist him this time. He was also taken aback by how tender he suddenly felt. He was expecting to have fallen into the room with her and wildly begin tearing at one another's clothing.

Olivia reached up and covered his hand with her own, rubbing her cheek against his palm. His palms were a bit rough from his raucous traveler days. It was a striking, sensuous contrast to the soft skin of her visage. Bill felt that familiar sensation swell within him, and was delighted she had finally stopped frosting him. He gently turned her body towards his own. Her eyes briefly closed, as if soaking in the moment. He lifted her chin with his hand till she looked back at him. He drew her to him till his arms could encircle her. He moved to kiss her ...

A robotic little tune suddenly broke the spell. Bill and Olivia froze. Bill shifted his eyes around in embarrassment. "Er, must be mine." Sure enough, his cell was ringing in the pocket of his jacket.


	2. Team Loyalties

Olivia sighed in exasperation. "Who is it?"

Bill looked at the name. Harley Cooper. He inwardly grimaced, and the internal debate begun. What if she was in trouble? What if this was something completely random? He stared at it blankly, as if willing it to decide for itself. Olivia pulled out of his grasp, and moved towards the bathroom. "Answer it," she called back, raising her eyebrows challengingly.

Bill shrugged at her helplessly, and mentally willed her to forgive him. Olivia just shook her head knowingly, and shut the door. He could hear her humming softly to herself as he answered the call. "Hello?"

"Bill?"

"Yes, Harley, what is it? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you remember what I was telling you earlier about -"

"Just shut up for a minute! Please!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"We're ... we're in trouble."

"We? Who's we?"

"I don't have time to explain ... please ... you have to help us."

"Harley, what is going on? I really don't have time for games."

"I think that Phillip -"

"What? Harley? Hello?"

There was a strangled sound, and with a click the line went dead. Bill was on his feet. His mind was a jumble of questions. Trepidation enveloped him as he contemplated what it would mean for Harley and for whoever else was with her if Phillip had discovered her secret. He had to get to the Spaulding mansion and figure out what was going on. He couldn't just leave someone in a predicament like that. It wasn't right. Bill glanced toward's the bathroom door. He knew what he had to do.

Mustering his strength, he knocked softly. Olivia's voice floated back to him "Yes?"

"Olivia ... erm ... are you decent?"

Olivia laughed from within. "I'm sure your hoping for a negative, Captain."

"Actually, I have something to tell you. Right now." Bill forced his voice to be calm.

Olivia, however, detected the note of worry in his voice. She came out. To what would have normally been his delight, she was wearing her lingerie as if she had been in the process of changing. Bill gulped. Hard. "Um, wow. Well ... yes, I have something I need to tell you."

Olivia nodded. "So you said."

"Yes, I did, yeah," Bill cleared his throat. "Would you mind maybe putting on ...?"

"Oh, sure." Olivia wrapped a robe around her lascivious frame. Bill mentally shook himself and reorganized his thoughts.

"Right. Well, I really have no clue where to begin."

"Let's see. You have to run and rescue Harley from the big, bad clutches of Life!"

Bill favored her with a sardonic smile. "Yes and no. Oh, boy. This is going to be harder than I thought it would be. Whew."

"Oh, now I've got it. You're divorcing me after only an evening of marriage so you and Harley can run away together. That phone call was confirming your arrangements and your undying love for each other."

Bill looked at her in exasperation. "Olivia _Lewis_! Please! I don't make it a habit to runaway to Vegas with old babysitters."

She beamed, pleased to hear her new name, and slugged him merrily on the shoulder. In return, he took her gently by her shoulders and sat her down on the bed so she faced him. He knelt down so their eyes were level. He gripped her shoulders for a moment longer and looked at her.

"What?" Olivia inquired, find it all a bit peculiar. "Was that ... you're not dying, right?"

The tension eased a bit as Bill chuckled. "No, no. Not that. You might kill me when I'm through saying what I'm about to say, though. So I'm going to remember you like this. I'm going to remember you looking so peaceful and non-furious."

"Just spill it," Olivia said. "I won't get upset."

"Don't make any promises."

"I didn't. Tell me."

"Uh, okay," Bill exhaled air he didn't realize he'd been holding in. "You remember when you, Harley, and I were trying to think of ways we could get into Phillip's secret world. We were trying to find a way to get on the inside and undercover, right? We wanted to infiltrate the enemy forces."

"Right," Olivia nodded. "And we were kind of playing it from the outside. Trying to get the list of stockholders and trying to prevent Phillip from taking Company and Cross Creek."

"Yes, yes," Bill said. "We were doing that. You were helping to do that." Bill got up and paced the room with anxiety. "You have to understand, please understand, that I didn't know if I could trust you. I knew that you were on your own, separate power-kick. I thought for a long time that all you wanted to do was use me and what I had, and then kick me away when you got what you wanted. I didn't know how ... how deep any feelings for Phillip ran. I didn't know if there was a part of you that might still be in love with him."

Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but Bill held up his hand. She fell back into silence.

"Please, let me finish. I feel stupid enough as it is trying to just say this to you. I ... I made a mistake. A big mistake. I chose to trust you, but not to trust you all the way. I really am not sure what happened. For some reason I trusted you implicitly when it came to Dinah. I just knew somehow that you would never betray my trust with that circumstance. Harley came up with this idea. She came up with a brilliant, dangerous plan to go incognito and squeeze information from Phillip and be able to predict his next moves."

"Incognito? What do you mean?"

"For the last while here, she has been posing as an employee of Phillip's. His personal assistant."

"What! How is that possible? Phillip knows Harley on sight! Anyone would know Harley on sight. This doesn't make any sense ..."

"She has been wearing a disguise. Heavy make-up, wig, glasses, baggy clothes, fat-suit, prosthetics, and who knows what else. The whole enchilada. She talks in this creepy, nasal way. She signed up for separate phone lines for when Phillip or anyone at Spaulding calls her. We've given her a background. Everything. Only she and I know about this."

Olivia sat very still, staring hard at the patterns in the carpet. Her mind was churning and flitting back and forth so rapidly it was making her head hurt. She reached up a hand and clutched her forehead, and began massaging. Why hadn't he told her? There was no reason on earth that she could think of that would have made her divulge such a lethal secret. _I am going to kill him, _she thought angrily, _I am going to never, ever believe a word he says again. How could he betray my trust this way? How could he hide this from me when we are supposed to be partners? This was supposed to be our mission. We were the original team and he went behind my back. He probably never would have told me had something not happened. What do I say to him?_

Bill watched her. "Olivia. I'm going to have to ask for your forgiveness once more tonight. That call just now was from Harley. It was very bizarre, and the line got cut off. I think she is in big trouble, and that we have to go help her. It's the right thing to do, and I know that you know that."

"And was it right, Bill, for you to lie to me?" Olivia asked, hoarsely.

"Not at all. It was dead wrong. As usual, I made a mistake. I can't do anything about it now. I can't change what I chose to do. I need your help. I can't do this by myself. You know how the Spaulding's work. You know where they might go, what they do, and you know the mansion. You know Phillip. You know Alan. I don't know the intimates. I only know outside information. Harley kept tabs on the inside. That is the reason I have spent so much time with her." He wasn't sure why he added on that last sentence, but saw Olivia's tense shoulders relax just a little bit.

"I really don't know what to say to you," Olivia began. "I really don't owe you a damn thing. This was completely wrong. You can justify it how you like, but I thought, foolishly, that I was an equal part of this business."

"Olivia, I married you today. I married you to keep you here and to keep you safe. Harley was the one who saved you from being stuck in Denmark for the rest of your life. I know that doesn't change what I did. I care for you deeply. Know that. Trust that. Are you going to help me?"

Olivia was struck by his words. Yes, she knew that he was the reason she wasn't flying home right now. She knew that Harley had helped save her from becoming a Danish prostitute. That last thought nearly made her smile. She looked up at Bill. She saw the pleading, hopeful, and contrite look in his eyes. She observed his nervous stance and the ticking of the clock warning them that time was passing. She realized he really had no time to waste. She realized he could have chosen to run out on her, or to have told her in a rush while pushing her out the door. He didn't. He took time to try and make it right. Olivia shook her head.

"Let's go, then," she said. Olivia walked near the closet and dropped off the robe. She put on a pair of black jeans and a red halter top that had been in her overnight bag. She threw on her jacket and shoes. Walking over to the door, she stood there expectantly.

Bill watched all this with some amazement. He walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. Thank you."

The pair quickly made there way down the hall, in the elevator, and out the main doors of Towers. Upon exiting into the parking lot they were met with a wet shock. The rain was coming down in torrents. Sheets of it fell at a time, spilling against the shining pavement. The thunder roared somewhere in the night sky. Bill grabbed Olivia's hand and leaned in close to her ear. "Do you see my car?"

Olivia squinted. "Make that noise with your key chain thing."

Bill pushed the button, and a ways off they heard the familiar clicking sound. They ran blindly towards that direction of the sound. Bill hurriedly unlocked the doors and Olivia dove in the passenger's seat. The car doors slammed in unison. Bill backed out carefully as Olivia flipped on the heater.

"Ah, wow," Bill sighed as he felt the dry, warm air hit his face. "That feels great."

Olivia shivered. "I didn't know it was still coming down this hard."

"Yeah, we might be in for some trouble," Bill said.

"We're on our way. The trouble doesn't start till we actually get to the Spaulding mansion. Why do you say that?"

"Hoo boy. That's why!" Bill pointed out onto the road. Cars lined both sides, packed tightly. A random horn honked somewhere ahead. The traffic was progressing only inches at a time.

"Can't we take a back road?" Olivia turned to look behind them.

"Don't think so, lady," Bill groaned. "We just got boxed in. We are going to have to wait it out."

"But Harley might not have a lot of time!" Olivia squeezed his arm. "We have to get there now! Should we try and walk?

"Well, we can't leave the car in the middle of the road. I can't even pull over. We would probably both catch pneumonia and die horrible, painful deaths and not do anyone any good at all. Plus, we're not going to be able to see. It's coming down too hard, and too fast." The windshield wipers were on their highest setting, and were squeaking back and forth restlessly.

"What do we do?" Olivia folded her arms and gripped her shoulders.

Bill honked hard on his horn, before letting his head fall back against the headrest and rolling his eyes up to the roof. "Wait it out. There really is no other option."

"I could try and go alone. You could stay with the car ..."

"There is no way at all that I am letting you go out into the rain, into the dark, and into the cold alone. There is no way I'm letting you try and find the mansion let alone go in there by yourself. Forget it. We're staying together."

"Fine! Fine," Olivia grumbled. "Be that way. I was just trying to help."

Bill sighed. "If she gets hurt it will be on my head. If you had known from the beginning, none of this would have happened. We could have dropped everything and just come to her aid, like the team we are supposed to be."

Olivia looked at his pained expression. She took his hand in hers. He grasped it firmly, as if her fingertips could relieve him of his guilt. They sat for a short while in silence. It was a bit uneasy; neither one of them knew what to feel. The sound of impatient drivers and the pelting rain chipped away at the peacefulness. Finally, Bill gave a little cough and withdrew his hand. Olivia, trying to contain any disappointment, folded her hands in her lap and faced her window.

Still more time passed. The traffic moved slightly, and Bill tried to satisfy himself with being able to lurch forward five inches. Feeling a bit awkward, he mustered the courage to speak.

"So, how are you?" he drawled dimly.

Olivia was startled by his voice. "Splendid. Thank you for asking. How are you?"

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old."

"That's really good."

"It's fantastic."

"I can't even imagine."

"Why is this so hard?"

"Excuse me?" Olivia glanced in his direction.

Bill sighed. "It's my fault things get so tense between us. We really seem to jump around to only two subjects when we talk these days. We talk about business ... or we start talking dirty."

Olivia shifted in her seat. "I don't know what you want me to say. I don't even know if you consider me your friend, and yet you married me. That definitely puts us in a very crazy situation."

"Insane," Bill agreed. "But I do think of you as my friend. You really have been a friend to me. You're probably the only friend I truly have right now. I mean, Harley only started to associate with me after we all teamed up. Michelle doesn't remember who I am. My family is always pushed to the limit dealing with extraordinary problems. I don't know where I fit in. When I'm with you, things don't seem so dire. Things might still be complicated, yet they feel simple at the same time. Am I making any sense at all?"

"Perfect sense," Olivia said. "I feel the same." Her heart begged to differ. What she was feeling was a lot stronger. It wasn't simply that she enjoyed his company or liked him as a person.

"Sometimes I don't know what to give you," Bill continued. "I don't know how ... how to take care of you. I am afraid I will hurt you if I push too hard, or if I fall short."

"Yeah, it was easier when it was just lust and revenge," Olivia tried to say it jokingly, but it came out sounding half-hearted.

They were both disconcerted when silence fell in the vehicle once more. Both were lost in their own, jumbled thoughts.

"This silence is driving me nuts," Bill finally admitted. "Do you want to put on some music?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," Olivia hit the radio dial. Fuzz and static met their ears. "Ugh!" Olivia turned it back off again.

"Station's must be experiencing technical difficulties," Bill lamented. "But, never fear! Look in that compartment between the seats. I've got a bunch of CDs in there. Go ahead and pick something you might like. Although, don't pick anything to head bashing. I'm edgy as it is. My nerves are fried."

Olivia chuckled softly, and opened up the case. "Hmm, interesting. My, what a lot of rock you have in here. Eighties, nineties ... good stuff. Something calm, something calm. You have some country in here."

Bill grimaced. "From the good old Texan days."

"Ah, the Lorelei days."

Bill looked at her sarcastically. "Yes, the Lorelei days. Just shove something in! Geez."

Olivia suppressed a grin, and went back to flipping through. "Gracious, what's this? Sarah Brightman? Josh Groban? I never knew you were so cultured."

"Huh?" Bill glanced down. "Pff! Those are _not_ mine. I'd love to say I am so polished and refined so I could impress you. Actually, those are Dinah's. She gives these people to me because she tells me they're 'pretty' and I should listen to them."

"Never said your sister didn't have bad taste," Olivia said. "I love opera."

"Could you really consider Josh Groban opera?" Bill queried.

"In a way," Olivia said. "I would think you would like it better since it's not too over-the-top."

"I actually haven't listened to them yet," Bill said sheepishly. "Dinah would be angry."

"Don't want to get her angry," Olivia teased.

"Put it on. I don't care. Hopefully it will turn out to be soothing and not ... annoying."

Olivia popped in _Closer_, but left the volume low.

"I can't understand what he's singing," said Bill.

"That's part of the beauty," Olivia sighed.

"Whatever you say!" Bill shook his head.

Olivia ran her fingers through her still damp hair. "We've been together a long time, haven't we?"

Bill gave her a look. "I wouldn't call a few months a long time."

"I mean before that," Olivia went on. "Do you remember when you first came back to town?"

Bill laughed. "Oh, yes. I remember that. Years had passed, and when I saw you again, I was amused that Uncle Josh couldn't hang onto you. You were too much for him to handle, I guess."

Olivia bristled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Josh knows Reva inside-out. Reva knows Josh inside-out. It was inevitable that they would get back together. Plus," he cocked an eyebrow. "I think you were too fiery. You were too primally sexual. You were too unpredictable. You were his exotic, caged bird. One day you would have to be set free to go back into the wild."

Olivia didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. "So you're saying _you_ can 'handle' me, whereas Josh couldn't?"


End file.
